Marek's disease

[chillst1]

BLUF: One of my chickens was diagnosed with Mareks. Is the rest of my flock of 40 doomed? Should I just give up on my chicken hobby? (Breeding and hatching)

So I just started my backyard chicken venture last June. Today I have 40 chickens in my back yard. Recently a couple of my hens(so far only 2) were getting sick so sent one of them to the state poultry lab for a necropsy. I figured maybe I was dealing with coccidiosis or something.

Much to my surprise I received the test results to find my hen tested positive for Mareks disease. I am pretty devastated, but also confused. I know I can assume all my flock has been exposed and is infected. I spoke to the state lab poultry vet and he said if it gets bad then I just need to get birds with vaccines in the future. Does this mean there are some strains of Mareks that are less devastating? Are all my chickens going to die. Should I not get any more chickens. I'm super bummed because I loved breeding and hatching them.

Thank you for your time and knowledge.

 

[azygous]

What a diagnosis of Marek's means is you now have a "closed flock". That means you will not be rehoming any of your extra chickens to anyone.

It means if you want new chickens, you will need to order specially from a hatchery that offers to vaccinate new chicks for Marek's. Those chicks will need a few weeks in isolation before they become resistant to Marek's symptoms, and once exposed to the flock, they will also carry the virus and cannot be rehomed out of the flock

What a Marek's diagnosis means is you will expect to have a chicken once in a while become symptomatic and become crippled and perhaps die or you will need to euthanize. Some chickens will become resistant and likely never show symptoms but they will still carry the virus.

The virus is hardy and can survive for long periods on shoes, so you will need to keep footwear separate from the footwear you wear away from your chicken yard so you don't pass the virus around to other chicken keepers as you trek through the feed store.

There are some treatments that have seemed to keep symptoms from getting bad such as St John's Wort and acyclovir. You will need to do your research. Having a virus in your flock means extra management to manage the disease. It places limitations on your flock, but it shouldn't deprive you of keeping and enjoying chickens.

 

[chillst1]

What a diagnosis of Marek's means is you now have a "closed flock". That means you will not be rehoming any of your extra chickens to anyone.

It means if you want new chickens, you will need to order specially from a hatchery that offers to vaccinate new chicks for Marek's. Those chicks will need a few weeks in isolation before they become resistant to Marek's symptoms, and once exposed to the flock, they will also carry the virus and cannot be rehomed out of the flock

What a Marek's diagnosis means is you will expect to have a chicken once in a while become symptomatic and become crippled and perhaps die or you will need to euthanize. Some chickens will become resistant and likely never show symptoms but they will still carry the virus.

The virus is hardy and can survive for long periods on shoes, so you will need to keep footwear separate from the footwear you wear away from your chicken yard so you don't pass the virus around to other chicken keepers as you trek through the feed store.

There are some treatments that have seemed to keep symptoms from getting bad such as St John's Wort and acyclovir. You will need to do your research. Having a virus in your flock means extra management to manage the disease. It places limitations on your flock, but it shouldn't deprive you of keeping and enjoying chickens.

Thank you so much for your words and knowledge this makes me feel better.

 

[Liviepaigesmom]

I'm also worried my flock was exposed. I just started selling chicks this year. Without the ability to sell chicks and earn a profit from them to even out costs I wont be able to keep chickens. I will have to send some out to be tested before I am sure but if it is will culling the whole flock cleaning and sanitizing the coop and starting over if I receive a positive an option?

 

[azygous]

Marek's lasts on average five months in the soil, and under some conditions, years.

You can disinfect the coops but the virus will still be present in the soil. If you have a run with a dirt base, it's going to be impossible to completely disinfect it. Waiting five months minimum before getting more chickens is an absolute must.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

 

[Mamatomany123]

I'm also worried my flock was exposed. I just started selling chicks this year. Without the ability to sell chicks and earn a profit from them to even out costs I wont be able to keep chickens. I will have to send some out to be tested before I am sure but if it is will culling the whole flock cleaning and sanitizing the coop and starting over if I receive a positive an option?

Well first you need to stop selling chicks until you know for sure. If they test positive then, like said above, you'll need to wait a minimum of 5 months before starting over. I then suggest getting one of those birds tested after theyve been on that sil to be sure they havent been infected and that the disease isnt present anymore.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Another option is breeding for resistance. Though, depending on the strain, you may end up with a lot of deaths using that route. If you wanted to do that, the Egyptian fayoumi is a good breed to start with, as they have more natural resistance to Marek’s than most other breeds.